I know many only read the headline of a story and come away with an opinion…. but I hope you, dear reader, will go a little deeper than that.
Here’s the thing beyond the headline of this diary. Yes, there was a time when cutting Social Security would be a third-rail issue in politics, but with today’s GOP, that appears not to be the case.
Or is it?
I think we have gotten to the point where the whole world, and certainly a large chunk of Americans, are just numb to Trump and his MAGA base. But we shouldn’t confuse “numb” with “don’t care” because these are entirely different things.
Here’s what was reported on Raw Story today after Trump’s “appearance” on CNBC.
“So first of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting,” Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen (video below), NBC News reports. “And in terms of, also, the theft and the bad management of entitlements — tremendous bad management of entitlements — there’s tremendous amounts of things and numbers of things you can do.”
And
"A Trump campaign spokesman said he was referring only to 'cutting waste and fraud,' but did not provide additional policy details on how he’d go about that or how much can be saved," NBC News added. The campaign's statement would appear to be incongruent with Trump's "also" remark.
In one of the APR’s recently, there was a comment that eluded to Florida being “red” now and no longer a swing state. I posted a comment at the time about how sick and tired I am that the Democrats throw in the towel on states after we lose a cycle or two (looking at you as well Ohio).
WE CAN’T give up like that:
1. The majority of voters don't know cutting SS is a serious discussion in the GOP right now. In fact, I have heard people running focus groups say that more than a few votes blame Joe Biden for Dobbs because “he was the president at the time.” Don’t overlook just how out of touch most people are when it comes to things we assume they know.
2. We shouldn’t assume places like Florida and Ohio are out of reach because they are all MAGA. Instead, we should look for other reasons why we have lost them over the last few cycles.
In the case of Florida, I would put a lot of the issue on the doorstep of the state Democratic party ground game. And in both the example states of Florida and Ohio, I would say we have had a messaging problem more than a policy issue.
Run an ad in Florida featuring Trump’s voice talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare, then tell me about Florida being out of the Democrat's reach! Joe Biden did a lot for his chances in Ohio by showing up with the auto union; more of this standing up for blue-collar workers, please!
Anywho…. I really don’t think Trump is breaking as many political rules without consequences as many believe. Yes, people are numb to his bullshit, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about it.
Many in the media and politicos like us here on DK have gotten to the point where we just throw up our hands at Trump’s latest outrage and say “it’s not going to matter to voters” but I firmly believe that’s the wrong way to look at it.
To me, Trump is like a guy who jumps out of an airplane then turns around and looks up at the sky saying “see, I am fine.” Sure, things look good from his viewpoint; it’s all blue sky for him, and that’s the viewpoint he wants the rest of us to see through as well when it comes to his campaign. But that doesn’t change the fact that things are going to get very messy when he inevitably does meet the ground.
Cutting Social Security and Medicare is most likely STILL a third rail for any politician, including Trump. People do still care; it's more that they just don't know the GOP's plans. It's our responsibility to let them know.
We need to stop giving up and start recognizing that Trump isn’t immune from political consequences. Trump is your grumpy uncle at Thanksgiving who spouts off about the latest conspiracy theory but isn't smart enough to realize it’s all made up. He is living in an echo chamber that believes the rest of the nation is like his MAGA crazies. Yet time and again, MAGA candidates go down to defeat. What more proof do we need that Trump is very vulnerable in 2024?
When voters find out that Trump is proud of overturning Roe v Wade, wants to put a 16 week abortion band in place nationally and wants to take away Social Security and Medicaid, I think we are going to see the laws of political physics smack him pretty hard.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking things are all blue sky for Trump and his reelection bid. That’s HIS viewpoint he is trying to sell the rest of us. In reality, the guy is in freefall, and the ground is approaching quickly.
Message, message, message. Ohio, Florida, Georga (yes, I have heard some Democrats say Georga is already going to Trump in ‘24), these are not lost states! We can and will win them again, it just requires us to see the world from a vantage point that doesn’t include Trump’s framing.